


A Harmony of Dissonance

by talonyth



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-05
Updated: 2014-06-05
Packaged: 2018-02-03 13:03:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1745621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/talonyth/pseuds/talonyth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oikawa feels restless as he plays against Karasuno but he cannot find an explanation for it - at first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Harmony of Dissonance

**Author's Note:**

> This has been on my mind for quite a while and I want to write Oikawa a lot more than I did until now because I find his character to be one of the most interesting I've read in any series. I still feel pretty unsure about him because he's quite complex and I feel like I don't quite catch him with all of his facets but I'm trying!

The air is vibrating. It feels damp and breathing is difficult but the first set is over. It is over and they won. But Karasuno is different than before. Oikawa can tell well enough that this is by no means the same type of match they had once played against Karasuno. They still seem scattered though. Individual, rather than together. They are not mismatched nor chaotic yet they go without being led, all their own way.

Tobio is no leader, after all. He is less selfish than before but it doesn’t change the fact that Tobio cannot lead those who are playing by his side. He can lead a game but not a team; as a setter, that must be tough. It gives Oikawa an odd feeling of satisfaction to know that this is how it is. His efforts are not fruitless, Tobio’s skills are one of a kind. But that is by far not enough to win. Not against them.

The teams go back to their positions on court. Oikawa isn’t certain they are going to win. He has learnt not to underestimate Karasuno. The first set hasn’t been taken easily; it has been fought for. Yet he is not afraid of them either. Aobajousai, his own team, they are a perfect harmony. Despite occasional banter he knows how to strengthen them – individually but also as a team. Something that Tobio still hasn’t achieved to do yet. His teammates are strong, there is no question about it. And they are a team. Yet it feels like they an army with no leader. They are a unity but they serve under no rule.

Or so he thinks. It’s Tobio’s turn to serve. From what Oikawa has seen before, the serve has gotten more precise and the strength has increased. Minimal but the changes are there. It doesn’t matter though. His team knows exactly how to receive those serves – after all, they train with Oikawa himself, and Tobio’s serves are but a meek imitation of his. They proved to do fine in the first set too, his teammates so there is no reason for Oikawa to falter. No reason. An unexplained uneasiness creeps up his spine though. No reason, there is none to worry at all.

His eyes are fixed on Tobio who takes a deep breath. Ah yes, stress relieving. If he screws up the first serve, Karasuno will be thrown off. He is worried. How much like him. How could he possibly lead if he isn’t even sure of himself? There is so much he still has to learn.

The goosebumps return when Tobio exhales. And with him seemingly his entire team. As if it has been staged, the quiet breathing of 6 people on the opposite side of the net seems to be synchronized. Calm and composed, they all found their focus in that one moment – it feels like they are the ocean before a storm, all stress and rush diminished and reset by the one who collected his thoughts. By Tobio, no less.

Karasuno has no leader, Oikawa thinks, but they have a conductor. The moment he signs them to be quiet, they are. He sets the pace of the sounds yet leaves it to them to decide how to interpret them. He leads the song, not the musicians. They are a unity but they all play as they wish to – and it creates a harmony beyond boundaries.

Suddenly, there is no cheering, no yelling any longer. Oikawa’s ears only hear the sounds of the opposite net. Footsteps setting a rhythm, breathing in sync as Kageyama serves. The ball stays in game, Oikawa sets with no problem at all – the receive has been perfect. Iwa-chan, sure, he spikes it right over but it is received and it makes Oikawa wonder. Have they been this composed in the first set too, or is this the fear that collects their thoughts and forces them to be quiet?

As Karasuno’s 3, their ace, scores the point, Oikawa grits his teeth and he feels the tension rising within him. There is still no reason to worry. It is just the first point.

If Tobio conducts, Oikawa commands.

What is an orchestra to an army? What are the chords of a violin to the strings of a bow? What is a baton to a sword? In the end, the army can suffocate the sounds of the orchestra in a span of minutes. Destroy the instruments. Kill the sounds. Deafen them and replace their symphonies with screams. In the end, only triumph matters no matter how it is achieved.

It’s his turn to serve and he feels safer now, calmer. Right, he has to win. It’s as simple as that. All means to bring him and his team victory are good enough. Yet the ball feels so heavy in his hands that he starts feeling irritated. Why is he so uneasy? There is not much of a difference now. It’s still the same team, still the same game. His ears are flooded by static and it makes thinking unbearable.

He looks up, he needs to find a spot uncovered but his mind is too clouded to focus on that.

The serve goes automatically, the perfect angle and strength yet Karasuno’s captain still caught onto that. As if it is nothing, he receives it and they score another point.

Oikawa doesn’t hear his teammates yelling, most prominently Iwaizumi, he doesn’t hear the cheering of the crowd behind them either. The static is gone, replaced by a disgusting harmony on the other side. One conducted freely with ease, the musicians so different from each other yet they work and click together in times of need. Each following their individual path yet playing together for the sake of creating a song to be remembered. Crooked instruments on their own, lacking skill individually but being covered by the sounds of those who are skilled enough to turn every awry note into a melodious one.

The sweat cold on his back, the shiver seemingly everlasting, Oikawa gulps down hard as he realizes belatedly that Tobio doesn’t need to lead. He’d suffocate their abilities if he tried to. He leaves them be. Unexpected and scattered actions, all chaotic at times, this is how they work best – because Karasuno, and that frightens Oikawa, is a harmony made out of dissonances.


End file.
